1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device and a method for collecting or storing objects in a warehouse, whereby objects are collected or stored at a particular location by a warehouse assistant. The warehouse assistant thereby needs to be provided with information with regard to the location from which objects are to be collected or stored and with regard to the number of objects to be taken from a particular location or to be stored at that location. When collecting objects a label must in some cases be directly affixed to said objects or groups of objects must otherwise be provided with certain information. Although the invention may be used both for collecting and for storing objects, particularly the collecting of objects will be discussed herein.
2. Summary of the Invention
The collecting of objects from a warehouse may take place entirely automatically, for example by means of robots, but it may also be done by warehouse assistants, whereby the warehouse assistant utilizes auxiliary means in order to be able to do his work efficiently. It is important thereby that the assistant is provided with clear information in an efficient manner, that he can easily find the respective shelf of the warehouse rack, that he has his hands free as much as possible to pick up the objects in question, whilst it is furthermore important that the number of manipulations to be performed by the assistant is reduced.
The object of the invention is to provide a method and a device whereby the risk of counting errors and/or location errors is reduced, whilst furthermore the speed at which operations are carried out can be increased, so that it becomes possible for a warehouse assistant to collect objects in a warehouse in an efficient manner.
In order to accomplish that objective use is according to the invention made of an apparatus which can move automatically to a location where objects are to be taken from a shelf of a warehouse rack, which apparatus subsequently indicates how many objects are to be collected and/or provides other information. The apparatus can move along a rail thereby, which rail may extend in substantially horizontal direction along a warehouse rack, at some distance from the ground.
The term "shelf" used in the present disclosure refers to a part of a warehouse rack where objects, usually of the same type, are present. The term "location" refers to a place where the apparatus may be located and where several shelves may be present, one being positioned above the other, for example. The term "warehouse rack" is to be given a broad interpretation. It may inter alia refer to a number of pallets arranged in side-by-side relationship, with objects present thereon. In that case the rail may be provided along the places where the pallets, which form the shelves in that case, may be located.
This enables a warehouse assistant to have his hands completely free for collecting and/or otherwise treating objects, whilst the shelf from which objects are to be collected is faultlessly indicated as a result of the apparatus being present in situ, whilst the apparatus furthermore provides, likewise in situ, that information which the warehouse assistant requires in collecting the respective objects.
According to one aspect of the invention the apparatus may be designed such that it can be manually coupled to a rail extending along the warehouse racks in question, so that one apparatus may be used on different rails, whereby each rail extends along a different warehouse rack, for example.
Furthermore each rail may be provided with an apparatus, or more than one apparatus may travel on the same rail, whereby the apparatuses are unable to pass each other, of course. What is possible, however, is that two apparatuses can pass each other "electronically", in that they exchange information and stored data with each other. Furthermore the rail may according to the invention be provided with bar codes, which indicate the location and/or the shelves at which the apparatus is present. Furthermore the apparatus may (also) be provided with a stepping motor, which is capable of moving the apparatus along a certain distance, if desired.
According to one aspect of the invention the apparatus may be provided with one or more units, such as a keyboard for giving instructions to the apparatus, a display on which visual information may be provided, a printer which can provide written information, which may be added to the objects, or which can deliver printed labels which may be affixed to the objects, a receiver/transmitter, which can keep in touch with a central computer which provides the apparatus with the necessary information, a loudspeaker, which may give acoustic information or signals, a warning light, which may provide visual information or signals, an indicator, which may refer to a particular shelf of the warehouse rack, a rechargeable and possibly exchangeable battery, which may be charged when the apparatus is in a rest position or is present on a base station, a carrying handle, with which the apparatus can be readily picked up from the rail, a scanner, which can read a bar code provided on the rail, and a bar code scanner, which may or may not be manually controlled, for identifying the objects. The above units will be discussed in more detail hereafter with reference to an embodiment of the invention.
The term scanner used in the present disclosure refers to a device for reading a bar code or another code, it also comprises a so-called reader which can be moved along a bar code.
According to the invention a conveyor may furthermore be provided, on which objects may be transported and which may be moved by operating staff (a warehouse assistant) to the place where the apparatus is located. The conveyor may thereby be provided with means for wireless communication with the apparatus. The keyboard and/or the display and/or other units connected to the apparatus may thereby be mounted on the conveyor, which may facilitate communication between the apparatus and the operating staff.
Furthermore indicators, for example in the form of lights, may be present on the conveyor, which indicators are controlled by the apparatus and which are capable of indicating at what location or in what compartment of the conveyor one or more objects are to be placed. Furthermore the conveyor may comprise movable compartments, which are moved in such a manner that a particular compartment becomes accessible, so that the objects can only be placed in that particular compartment. Said moving or making the compartments otherwise accessible may thereby be controlled by the apparatus.
According to one aspect of the invention the apparatus may transmit information to a location where the objects undergo further treatment, which treatment may take place on the basis of that information. This information may include the origin and/or the destination of the objects in question. On the basis of this information a roller conveyor may for example be controlled, on which the objects are conveyed to their correct destination. Furthermore this information may be received by a receiver present on a trolley or on a row of hitched-together trolleys, which receiver will for example turn on lights at locations where the goods in question are to be deposited.
The invention may be used both for collecting objects in a warehouse and for placing or storing objects in a warehouse.
Further aspects of the invention will be described with reference to an embodiment and are defined in the claims.